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I'm John LeMasney, and I love great beer. I'm always looking for co-commentary, guest reviews, and dissenting opinions, so feel free to comment or subscribe to my RSS feed. I love hops and Belgian styles, Rogue, Victory, Flying Fish, Flying Dog, Dogfish Head, Founders and other American Craft breweries. I like to photograph and broadcast my tastings, and I'm very interested in the calories in beer. I'm glad you stopped by, please add my site to del.icio.us, friendfeed, or your own favorite social site. I'm trying to spread the word about great beer, and I hope you join me. I'm on twitter, friendfeed, facebook, linkedin and lots of other places as lemasney.

Palate 5 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: drying warming
Body: full
Carbonation: average
Finish
Length: very long
Intensity: very strong
Balance: very bitter
Notes: A fantastic finish that leaves you looking forward to the next sip.

General Impression: 19 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: Except for the slight critique of the missing head, which is forgivable considering the alcohol content, which is well hidden, this is a nearly perfect BWSA. Great job, Stone, as per the usual. This brew was purchased to celebrate the finish of my summer 1 Mediation class at Rider University in the Graduate Program for Organizational Leadership. The review of this fantastic ale is dedicated to the efforts of Jon Millen and the COM 390 class. Collaboration, not litigation.

Palate: Starts heavy with sweetness, syrupy, quickly moves to tea and caramel, followed by slow descent to bitterness and hoppy overload.

Overall: Delicious and amazing. I have to grab it when I first see it each season. Great stuff. An absolute go-to fave. Value is amazing for the craft involved. Despite the macro overtones of what Sierra Nevada is doing, on their scale, you have to give them credit for delivering on flavor and quality on their brews — they do macro right.

Aroma: Oak, whiskey, alcohol, heartburn, smoke, and tobacco. An exhilarating aroma, and just being around it seems a little bit like a spicy barbecue is nearby.

Visuals: Packaging is a bit precious, but well done, and meets the need for specialty presentation. Body is an angry deep hazy red under an almost white long lasting head. Freshness and quality are evident from the way the body acts. Lacing is sticky and thick. Beautiful.

Taste: licorice, smoke, spices, and oak meld at the front, the middle has a deep slow burn, and the finish is almost all hops with a sweet malty undertone. An amazing brew. The oak really gives this BWSA a depth and flavor that I find pretty unique. Barbeque sweetness and smoke is welcome. This should be had with some blackened chicken and spicy curried potatoes. This would be great with Indian cuisine.

Palate: Smoother than you’d expect by far. Very oaky, woody, and crisp. A bit sour, puckers after a moment. Finish is warm, delicious, and strong

Overall: I love this, but I’d love it more playing against some savory and spicy flavors. Delicious.

Visuals: Beautiful packaging, as with most Avery brews. The reddish slightly hazy body seems angry, ruby, bloody. It is fairly brilliant to start, but gets hazier with pour. Thick off white head and lace are staying, sticky, and wonderful.

Taste: Beautifully balanced. The alcohol is well hidden, but there is clearly a lingering burn, mixed with a sweet tea moment. Delicious, bitter, and satisfying, but most surprising of all, it can be tasted. Restrained, and wonderfully so. Nice hop bitterness throughout, but the malt is forefront. On a longer sip, fruits emerge. Cherry, grape, melon, sweetness, but not overly so. Warm, spicy, and simply delightful.

Palate: A long lasting flavor of tea, hops, licorice, grapefruit, and cherry. A wonderful warming sensation throughout, clearly due to the ABV, but the usual burn on the palate is missing. That’s killer.

Overall: Near the top of my list for Barelywines. I prefer a bit more of a cloying flavor in a BWSA, whereas this is much dryer. I’ll search this out again though. I’d love to pair it with a medium rare steak, some al dente green vegetables with a spicy sauce, or a spicy potato masala dosa.

Overall: Exactly what I paid for — not exactly a 120 minute IPA, but more of a mix between the 120 Minute and a Raison d’ extra. I’d have it again, for sure. very nice, but not one of my favorites. Medium value for high craft.